Barrels and blogs
Tana Poppino is a superior athlete and one of the elite barrel racers in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, a three-time qualifier to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. A Coloradoan by birth, she’s been in the northeast Oklahoma community of Big Cabin for a long time. She’s married to a cowboy, steer roper Marty Poppino, […]
That’s just unheard of
Angie Meadors has a lot going for her. This past December, she qualified for her sixth trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, where she won two go-rounds outright and split the final night of competiton. In all, she walked away from ProRodeo’s season championship event with $50,700 in earnings, which just about anyone would […]
Magical 21
More than half the cowboys competing at in the first round of the Madison Square Garden Invitational on Friday night rode their bulls the qualifying eight seconds. That’s pretty incredible, especially in the Professional Bull Riders’ Built Ford Tough Series, where the riding percentage isn’t near that good most go-rounds. Douglas Duncan of Alvin, Texas, […]
The season begins tonight
The Professional Bull Riders will kick off the Built Ford Tough Series schedule this weekend at the Madison Square Garden Invitational in New York City. It’s the first of 29 events for 2011 and will feature the top 40 bull riders to open the campaign – made up mostly of the top 40 from last […]
PBR picks
There are thousands of fans who are plenty excited for the start of the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series schedule. They show up in packs to events all across the country, and when they’re not on site, they tune in to all the action on the Versus network. They all have their favorite […]
Thinking of playoffs
Sunday afternoon, I plan to be inside Arrowhead Stadium rooting on the Kansas City Chiefs in their first-round playoff game with the Baltimore Ravens. It’s the Chiefs’ next step at fighting for a world championship, and it’s why the playoffs is a fantastic time of year in sports. In rodeo, we have the Wrangler Million Dollar […]
Testing your short-term memory
My holiday visits reminded me that oftentimes we remember things from many years ago but struggle to remember recent activities. So this trivia question is about testing your short-term memory. Who were the average winners at the 2010 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo?
A West Texas jewel
It’s more than 650 miles from Denver to Odessa, Texas, and there will be plenty of rodeo folks making their way across every foot of pavement over the next two weeks. It’s time for the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo at the Ector County Coliseum, a six-performance rodeo that takes place over nine days. Two […]
A good Reid
Neal Reid is a talented writer with a work ethic that’s just as strong. He has worked countless hours at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, where he serves as managing editor of ProRodeo Sports News. But he’s done much more than that. As one of the few members of the PRCA’s communications department, Reid wears […]
Rodeo’s new year
The 2011 ProRodeo season has been going since early October, but the first rodeo of the new year has begun in Denver with qualifications for the National Western Stock Show. The first performance of the Denver rodeo is Saturday afternoon, and there are some guys who will have to miss their shot at competing at […]
Thinking of Oklahoma
A month ago right now, the opening round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo was in top form in Las Vegas. Now I’m already thinking of the next major championship event, the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, set for March 31-April 4 at State Fair Arena (or Jim Norick Arena) in Oklahoma City. It will […]
On the Bright side
Matt Bright knew he had a chance to win the eighth go-round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo when he was matched with Carr Pro Rodeo’s Real Deal, the 2005 Bareback Riding Horse of the Year. What happened was a wreck when the big brown gelding reared and smashed Bright into the back of the bucking […]
He’s taken a Tuff stance
If it’s happened in bull riding, Tuff Hedeman’s probably seen it. He’s won three bull riding world championships in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and one in the Professional Bull Riders, where he once served as the organization’s president. Now he’s president of Championship Bull Riding, another stand-alone bull riding association. The CBR is following […]
I resolve …
Whether it is weight loss or an attitude change, most people have something they want to make as their New Year’s resolution. What’s yours? I resolve to get back on the path of eating healthier and exercising more. I’d lost 25 pounds through 2010, but I’ve gained some back, and I can tell I’m not […]
Must-watch television
Jeff Medders has been the television voice of rodeo for two decades. His sound is familiar and strong, a great correlation for the sport and its stars. Now as the man in charge of Geronimo Productions, Medders’ schedule gets a little more intense in 2011. You see, in addition to producing every Championship Bull Riding TV […]
It’s time to go
I visited today with a longtime friend and cowboy who has never been to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. It’s time my friend goes. He’d like to take his wife and another couple to the final two performances, and I think that’s a great time to experience ProRodeo’s season finale. It’s when champions will be […]
Merry Christmas
As the clock nears midnight on Christmas Eve, we can find many things for which to be thankful. And like the children with wide eyes and wild dreams, we can hope Santa brings us our favorite goodies while we reflect on the real reason for the season with our close friends and family. If you […]
From one extreme to another
No matter how he tried to paint a good picture in Las Vegas, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo had not been kind to Ardie Maier of Timber Lake, S.D. Outside those that were injured, Maier was having the worst ProRodeo championship. He’d earned a spot among the top 15 in the PRCA’s bull riding world […]
Worthy viewpoint
During the PRCA Awards Banquet, I was honored to visit with Rick Thompson. During the 10 rounds at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, I was pleased to learn more about Derek Barton. The men of Talk Rodeo earned their honor. http://www.rodeoattitude.com/spur/eventnews/bullriding/talkrodeoorg-wins-broadcast-award-19400.shtml
PRCA Trade Show
I’d like to talk to the folks at the PRCA who are in charge of the annual convention and trade show, because I’d like to know how this year’s attendance compares to other years. There seemed to be good numbers during some of the talking points at the convention, but the numbers inside the trade […]
A.J. Franzen – 1984-2010
I didn’t know A.J. Franzen, but plenty of my friends did. Franzen, of Carpenter, Wyo., died Dec. 18, in a car wreck near his home. He was 26. He was too young and leaves behind a young family – his son, Jace, and wife, Barbara, who is expecting a second child in May. I feel […]
Miles and miles
I made a whirlwind trip to western Kansas. Was on the road for 16 hours, in my hometown for 15. It was as close to rodeoing as most folks might get, and it’s pretty far from rodeoing. For cowboys and cowgirls, 15-hour stays are rare, especially in the heat of the season when there might […]
Some storytelling
The nice thing about friends is they like to tell stories. Jerry Norton is a world champion bullfighter, one of the last guys to be crowned in the Wrangler Freestyle Bullfights finale during the National Finals Rodeo. He’s also been one of the featured bullfighters at the annual Dodge City (Kan.) Round-Up Rodeo, and every […]
They’re average, and they like it
The only thing more important to winning the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo average is a world championship. But how important is the average title? Of the nine ProRodeo contestants to win the 2010 world titles, four won the average – Dean Gorsuch tied Billy Bugenig with the best bulldogging cumulative time of 45.7 seconds, and […]